This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Pickup trucks and cargo van have long been used for rugged and messy applications. These vehicles are often used to carry cargo that can permanently damage the cargo box of the vehicle. For instance, the transport of dirt, blocks, stones, parts, and other items can often mar, dent, or damage the painted surface of the cargo box. Consequently, in a short time the cargo box and the vehicle generally can look worn, abused, and mistreated. Moreover, if repair to the damage in the cargo box is not attended to, permanent corrosion can occur.
To overcome this problem, vehicle manufacturers and after-market suppliers began to supply owners with protective bed liners. These units generally comprised one-pieced structures composed of a plastic. The liner of this design is lowered into the vehicle cargo box and, because of its one-piece construction, forms a large, unitary barrier to protect the bed from scratches and rust.
However, these liners suffer from a variety of difficulties. For example, they are remarkably cumbersome and require an extensive amount of labor for installation and removal. Furthermore, the conventional bed liner is difficult to store when removed from the vehicle. As a practical matter, these liners often remain in the vehicle for as long as the owner owns it. Unfortunately, debris and moisture can often seep between the unitary liner and the cargo box through a seam formed therebetween or through small openings in the cargo box that can lead to scratches and corrosion that are difficult to notice with the liner in place. Still further, these conventional liners are surprisingly heavy, being composed of a high-density, heavy plastic. Finally, these liners are typically attached to the cargo box using fasteners requiring drilling of the cargo surface, thereby potentially leading to an increased likelihood of corrosion at the fastener location.
In an attempt to overcome these problems, some have resorted to spraying a liquid covering over the entirety of the cargo box surface to form a cured and hardened surface. Unfortunately, this cured and hardened surface is not removable and, thus, prevents the vehicle from being returned to its as-manufactured condition.
Solutions to some of these disadvantages have been found as illustrated in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,007,670 and 5,806,909, which are incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,670 teaches, among other things, a multi-layer, corrugated bed liner that is connectable to the floor portion of the cargo box via a hook and loop fastener system. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,909 teaches, among other things, a removable and separable bed liner system that is attached to each other via a zipper and coupled to the cargo box via a hook and loop fastener system. It should be appreciated from a reading of these patents that their described assembly, although removable, is unlikely to be removed due to the difficulty of the hook and loop fastener system and the presence of sealed and zippered corners (shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,909).
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a bed liner system that is simple to install and remove that is particularly well suited for cargo box protection while maintaining a simple method of removal.